ANXIOUS parents are concerned over the possibility of the American Academy of Paphos being forced to close.
Bureaucracy and red tape has meant that the school is still waiting for a licence, five years after it originally applied.
A meeting between the Education Ministry and directors of the school will take place in Nicosia today. The meeting could decide the future of the private school.
Barry Clement, the school’s principal told the Cyprus Mail, “I want to reassure parents and pupils that we have no expectation that the outcome of this meeting will stop us from continuing to provide a good standard of education for years to come.
“We have no expectations that the school will close.”
The American Academy in Paphos, is the sister school of the Limassol school, and opened in 2004.The current site is a temporary one, which is being used until a new school can be built.
The new site in Achaelia has already been purchased, and displays a sign advertising the establishment. Permission to build the school on the site was finally obtained in March this year, and steps to go ahead with the project are under way.
Lindsey Patroclou, the mother of a pupil at the school and a member of the PTA, expressed hope for the school’s future.
“I’m trying to be optimistic about the situation because the alternative is too horrific to contemplate. I don’t blame the school, as I know they have tried everything in their power to ensure all their paperwork and procedures were followed.”
“I think there has been a lack of information as regards the licence. When I first sent my daughter to the school, I wasn’t aware that it wasn’t licensed.”
Patroclou pointed out that the school directors called a meeting recently, where she had understood that everything was “fine and had been approved”.
“I’m on the PTA, and found out via email only days ago that the directors were being asked to confirm or refute that a judgement had been passed in Paphos district court, saying that the school was operating without a license.
“It also said they had a few months to correct the matter. I believe three other schools had the same problem.”
Sources close to the issue said this is a Catch-22 situation and there has been a hold up.
All the correct licences and papers were filed when the school was established but a licence can’t be issued because of the current accommodation.
All the procedures have been followed and applied for since the school’s inception, with the hope of gaining all the relevant permissions. But the stumbling block has been the premises.
“As I see it, building permission has been granted, and therefore there shouldn’t have been any more problems,” the source said
Some parents have accused other private establishments in Paphos of complaining to authorities, as they believe they are’ unhappy about the competition.’
One mother, whose children attended the American Academy, spoke to the Mail on condition of anonymity.
“We are all sure these problems are being caused by rival schools complaining to the authorities. The academy is the newest private school in Paphos,” she said, “Even though the facilities aren’t the best, the teachers and the approach of the school to kids education is outstanding.”
She continued, “If they can achieve this level of respect, can you imagine what will be possible at a new school with all the facilities?
“Every step of the way, attempts by the school to get their licence has been sabotaged. Other schools are just jealous, and aren’t thinking about the children. It would be devastating for them if their school closed, and they had to go elsewhere.”
Staff also confirmed that any parent enrolling their child into the school would be able to see the lack of facilities. But the new building in Achaelia promises to change that.
Their sister school in Limassol has been established for more than two decades and enjoys a good reputation.
The Paphos school pointed out that the Education Ministry didn’t have any quarrel with the qualifications of the staff, consisting of a mixture of expat teachers from the UK and local teachers from Paphos.
Just under 300 pupils now attend the Paphos School, which has been extended one year at a time. Some of the students are about to take their GCSE exams. This will be the first time pupils of the school will be sitting them.
Ministry representatives were unavailable for comment yesterday.
